Sheriff's annual report: Mission statement and intros

Last month, Seneca County Sheriff's Office released its 2021 annual report. The report features a message from Sheriff Fred Stevens along with some background on Stevens, information on past Seneca County sheriffs, the history of the sheriff position, a listing of administrative staff and many more aspects of the sheriff's office. It also includes statistics from all the departments in the office. The A-T is breaking down the report into a series of articles. This first article in the series will feature information about the staff and the history of the Seneca County Sheriff's Office. To begin, Stevens featured an introduction to the document in which he explained the main focuses since he took office, which he described as "employees consistently striving to provide the best protection and services for the citizens of Seneca County." "We make every effort to provide the best customer service possible to our citizens and those traveling through our county with our focus on the Agency's Mission, Vision and Core Values," Stevens wrote. He then mentions the Sheriff's Office's new app, which has various information from weather alerts to the local sex offender registry. The app can be found on Apple and Google products, however, citizens are asked to ensure that Ohio is added to the search, or Seneca County New York's app will likely be the first result. Some 2021 highlights were also added to the report, including putting forth an emphasis on customer service and employee wellness. SCSO participated in training and participated in community events such as parades, community clean-up days and attended community meetings. A maintenance plan was also developed to clean, repair and update the building. SCSO also worked to build relationships with Fostoria Police Department and Tiffin Police Department. "It is through the continued cooperation with the Chiefs of Police, the Village, City, Township and County governmental bodies that we are able to accomplish this," Stevens wrote. The report then goes into information about Sheriff Stevens, his education and his experience. Stevens is a 29-year resident of Seneca County and lives in Tiffin. After graduating from DeVilbiss High School in Toledo in 1985, he entered the U.S. army. Stevens graduated from Terra Community College with an associate's degree in police science. He went on to graduate from Tiffin University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice then received his master's from Tiffin University in justice administration. He has been in law enforcement for 30 years, where he spent 11 years as a front-line and mid-level management supervisor and spent eight years as Tiffin Police Chief. He also taught as an adjunct professor in criminal justice for six years at Tiffin University. He has taken several courses in subjects such as leadership, jail administration and organizational management. Stevens graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2012 and belongs to various associations. Current staff The office's command staff is then broken down: Sheriff Fred Stevens Chief Deputy Charles Boyer Patrol Commander Captain Brian Hescht Corrections Commander Ronald Green Administrative Commander Lieutenant William Cunningham SCSO's administrative staff follows. Civil Services Manager Shelly Ardner Evidence/Billing/CCW Manager Kacie Parrish Records Manager Bonnie Blevins Executive Assistant and Personnel/Payroll Manager Alexia Illig Stevens then added the SCSO's mission, vision and core values, which he said at a commissioners' meeting the staff came up with together. Mission – It is the mission of the Seneca County Sheriff's Office to provide professional law enforcement, dispatch, correctional and court services for our community. Through these efforts, we protect and serve the peace with fairness and compassion Vision – Through innovative thinking and goal setting, we are committed to delivering unparalleled service to our community. We will continue to strengthen community relationships and public trust while striving for excellence through employee development, self-discipline and strong leadership. Core Values – Fairness – ability to make judgement free from discrimination or dishonesty. Integrity – doing what is right at all times even when no one is watching. Respect – Requires empathy, consideration and a willingness to help. Service – means we make intentional decisions and actions to benefit others. Teamwork – working together to support each other in order to get the job done and go home safely. Stevens also discussed the Seneca County Reserve Deputy program which is made up of retired and longtime reserve deputies who assist the agency throughout the year. Reserve deputies ride with other deputies, work parades, work multiple shifts at the county fair, work festivals and concerts and fill in for off-duty work that full-time deputies cannot work. The current reserve roster has 21 deputies who do qualifying and continued professional training that is also required of full-time deputies. "They have monthly meetings and we certainly appreciate the time and dedication they give to this agency and the volunteer hours they put in," Stevens said. The report also includes three retirements from 2021. Captain Ronald Green Lieutenant Joseph Panuto Corrections Officer Dianne Nutter Stevens also broke down the awards his staff received in 2021. Deputy of the year – Deputy Jeffrey McCoy Corrections Officer of the year – Deputy Kevin Scherley Civilian of the year - Executive Assistant/Personnel Manager Alexia Illig Dispatcher of the year – Dispatcher Stacey Saylors Years of service Five – Levi Webster 15 – Jeffrey Smith, Richard Best, Ryan Monahan 25 – Daniel Branson and Robin McCormack Years of safe driving Five – Troy Callahan and Kevin Scherley 10 – Christopher Potter and Jeffrey Smith 15 – Richard Best and Mark Lawson 20 – Christopher Weimerskirch 25 – Donald Joseph, Larry Mackling Jr., Kevin Reinbolt Lifesaving CO Colton Company Sgt. Charles Dell CO Samantha Dress CO Derek Henderson CO Daniel Johnston Nurse Brenda Rowlett 2 lifesaving awards – Sgt. Ryan Monahan and CO Laurie Thompson Citation Deputy Lane Sauber Military Service Sheriff Fred Stevens Lt. William Cunningham Sgt. Donald Joseph Sgt. Christopher Weimerskirch Cpl. Corey Johnston Cpl. Terry Foster CO Heidi Stanford CO Joshua Iannantuono The next article in the series will begin to break down the county's crime and law enforcement statistics for 2021.